Children served as worship leaders throughout their Sabbath Service on the 23rd September 2023 in Glasgow. The theme Fiercely Faithful inspired the sermon, children’s story, song service, special items, and scripture reading.
Geovanny and Kiki, respectively 9 and 13 years old, took turns to preach on that day. The sermonettes, spinning around Jacob’s life, showed that he was not a perfect man but God’s faithfulness was with him. We learned from the message of the day that, “after wrestling with God, Jacob was reminded of God’s covenant promise stating that his family would be God’s people and he would be their God. Jacob inherited the promise made to his grandfather, Abraham. God kept that promise with Isaac and He did the same with Jacob and his children, then his grandchildren, his great-great children and so on from generation to generation. Because we have inherited the same promise, God has also promised us to always be with us. He is fiercely faithful and always keeps His promises. God can be our God, and we can be his people. He will be with us and he will bless us if we follow Him.”
During the children’s story, 10 years old Jared used blindfolds to cover some children’s eyes for an experiment. The parents were also involved and it was fun! Jacob lied to get his brother’s blessing. So the experiment was to show how difficult it was for Isaac, who was blind, to detect Jacob’s trick. Jared then unveiled the devastating consequences of Jacob’s lie. The big lesson was that, in Exodus 20:16, God commands us not to lie. Also, “even the simple tiny lie you say can break the hearts of people around you and create big-big problems.”
Led by Anesu, 16, the praise and worship team practised a lot for the great occasion. The songs were child-friendly melodies. The Kindergarten and Primary classes sang “Jacob’s Ladder” as a special item while all the children performed the theme song “Walk by Faith” as the opening and closing song.
There were lots of smiles on the parents’ faces as they enjoyed seeing their children leading the service. They later hurried to the children’s leader and teachers to express their gratitude for the hard work with the children. The children “felt like very important” as Kerry, 10, later reported, after leading the welcoming remarks team made of three younger kids during the service; and this is the main reason of such event! The Children’s Sabbath is a day set aside by SDA churches all over the world to highlight and affirm the gifts and talents of children in the church. It is an occasion to celebrate them as active participants in the life of the church and show them how important they are in God’s ministry, because they are part of the church today and leaders of tomorrow.
According to Sister Phelomen Mukangiliye, the Glasgow Children’s Ministry’s leader “this program was to be held earlier in the year along with other SDA churches, but to avoid a clash with the Pathfinder and Adventurer activities, the children’s day was postponed to September in Glasgow. This also allowed more time for better preparation as well.”
At the end, Elder Benjamin Bakina gave the benediction. After the service, the children enjoyed a special fellowship lunch; a child-friendly buffet meticulously prepared by the Glasgow mothers with lots of love and care. It was such a wonderful day of praise, worship, and rejoicing. Most of the children could not hide their joy as they excitedly said to be looking forward to the next Children’s Sabbath Service Day in 2024.
Sister Phelomen, entirely satisfied with the event, praised the Lord for empowering the children and was pleased that each of them had a role to play. She later said to be impressed by the bravery of the children as although they had been busy with the Children’s Day, they eagerly took part in the 14th Sabbath School presentation on 30th September.
